Key Points – The USS Alabama (BB-60), a South Dakota-class fast battleship commissioned in 1942, played a significant role in World War II.
-Initially tasked with escorting Allied convoys to the Soviet Union, it transferred to the Pacific theater in 1943.
-Armed with nine 16-inch guns and robust armor, the Alabama protected US carrier task forces and provided crucial shore bombardment during key campaigns including Tarawa, Saipan, the Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, and Okinawa, later shelling the Japanese home islands.
-Decommissioned in 1947, the “Mighty A” was preserved and became a museum ship in Mobile, Alabama, in 1964.
USS Alabama, The Big Battlewagon Of World War II
The USS Alabama (BB-60) was the fourth and final member of the South Dakota class of fast battleships built for the United States Navy in the 1940s.
The USS Alabama served the US during World War II, protecting convoys heading to the Soviet Union. In 1943, the ship transferred to the Pacific fleet and took part in numerous campaigns protecting the fast carrier task forces and bombarding shore positions to support amphibious landings.
From 1943 until the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Harbor in September 1945, the USS Alabama fought with distinction in the Pacific Campaign.
Background of the USS Alabama BB-60
The first American battleships designed after the Washington Treaty system began to break down in the mid-1930s took advantage of an escalator clause that increased the main battery to 16-inch (406 mm) guns. However, Congress refused to authorize larger battleships, which kept their displacement close to the Washington Treaty limit of 35,000 long tons (36,000 t).
A requirement to be armored against the same caliber of guns they carried, combined with the displacement restriction, resulted in cramped ships. Overcrowding was exacerbated by wartime modifications that strengthened anti-aircraft batteries and significantly increased crews from the peacetime strength of 1,793 officers and enlisted men to 2,500 during the war years.
USS Alabama is 680 feet long overall and has a 108 ft 2 inches beam and a 35 ft 1-inch draft. She displaced 37,970 long tons (38,580 t) as designed and up to 44,519 long tons (45,233 t) at full combat load.
Four General Electric steam turbines powered the ship, each driving one propeller shaft, using steam provided by eight oil-fired Babcock & Wilcox boilers. Rated at 130,000 shaft horsepower (97,000 kW), the turbines were intended to give a top speed of 27.5 knots (50.9 km/h; 31.6 mph). The ship had a cruising range of 15,000 nautical miles (28,000 km; 17,000 mi) at a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph).
She carried three Vought OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes for aerial reconnaissance, which were launched by a pair of aircraft catapults on her fantail.
The USS Alabama’s Armament
The ship was armed with a main battery of nine 16″/45 caliber Mark 6 guns in three triple-gun turrets on the centerline. Two of these guns were placed in a super-firing pair forward, with the third aft.
The secondary battery consisted of versatile 20, five-inch/38 caliber dual-purpose guns mounted in twin turrets clustered amidships, five turrets on either side. The ship carried a battery of six quadruple 40 mm (1.6 in) Bofors guns and thirty-five 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon autocannons in single mounts for air defense.
The ship was heavily armored. The central armored belt was 12.2 inches (310 mm) thick, while the main armored deck was up to 6 inches (152 mm) thick. The main battery gun turrets had 18-inch (457 mm) thick faces and were mounted atop barbettes 17.3 inches (440 mm) thick. The conning tower had 16-inch (406 mm) thick sides.
Wartime Service
The USS Alabama was commissioned on August 16, 1942, eight months after Pearl Harbor. Her first deployment in April 1943 was to escort Allied convoys to the Soviet Union. Later in August, she was transferred to the Pacific Fleet via the Panama Canal.
The USS Alabama participated in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, bombarding the island of Tarawa. The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign followed this in 1944. The battleship bombarded Saipan before the amphibious landings. Japan counterattacked, resulting in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Later, the invasion of Guam and the famous Battle of Leyte Gulf followed.
In May 1945, the battleships Alabama, Massachusetts, and Indiana took part in supporting the invasion of Okinawa and shelled the Japanese island of Minami Daito Jima.
After refitting, the Alabama and four other US and British battleships and two cruisers bombarded six industrial facilities northeast of Tokyo. On August 9, Alabama shelled targets at Kamaishi in company with two battleships and six American and British cruisers.
Following the Japanese surrender in September, she sailed into Tokyo Bay and took part in Operation Magic Carpet, which shuttled US troops home.
The USS Alabama retired on January 9, 1947, and was a member of the reserve fleet until she was awarded the state of Alabama to serve as a museum ship in 1964.
During her subsequent career as a museum ship, Alabama was used as a set for several movies, including Under Siege in 1992 and USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage in 2016.
About the Author:
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.
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